My story starts some 21 years ago whilst a student. Like many others, I engaged in fundraising for the student Rag Appeal, raising funds for a charity called Mencap and a host of smaller local ones. Not much thought went into why I did it, or why the benefitting charities were those selected by the Rag Committee; it just seemed like a good thing to do. It felt good making a contribution to society, when society was making a contribution to me (tuition fees and a proportion of living expenses known as the student grant).

Much more recently in my prime, my life has been touched by illness. Sudden, unexpected, incurable and aggressive. But I refuse to believe that it's completely hopeless, despite the fact that just 15 years ago, others who had the same illness would not even have received the same diagnosis. Is it a new illness, or an advance in the identification of the disease sub-type that has happened? Those contracting the disease 15 years ago have had very little hope and probably a similarly short survival.

Treatments, drugs and understanding developed through research have changed the outlook for some. The time has now come for me to raise funds with a purpose. To improve things for others NOW, and to increase the chances of improving patient outlooks for the future.

You will see some articles appearing in 'A day in the life'. They will provide an account of my approach, descriptions of the many people I meet, as well as an insight into my thoughts, concerns and preparations for when the self imposed challenge has to be completed.

All this to help focus on spreading awareness of similar illnesses and encouraging people to act (through registering to become a bone marrow donor, and / or via donations), to make a difference for those in society who have been unlucky to become ill with diseases that sometimes have no known cause and no known cure.

If you visit my profile, you will see that I have a website dedicated to a sporting challenge for next year; I will be describing my thoughts, ideas, concerns and most importantly, the fun that I have, continuing to enjoy life while I am still able. I invite you to join me on this journey.